


#TheZombieFic

by MilkPinkVixen



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bi People, F/F, F/M, First story don't judge too much please and thank you, Gayness, I mean of course it's gory we got zombies, M/M, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Fiction, People of all sexualities, Straight People, Swearing, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, gay people, gory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-07-14 18:26:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16046090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilkPinkVixen/pseuds/MilkPinkVixen
Summary: “Drop your weapons. Hands up in the air.” A male voice pierced through the air, and so did the click of a gun. Phoebe and her sister, Avery, froze, hands in the middle of the supplies they were about to get.Hesitantly, the duo dropped their weapons and lifted their hands up.“Give up the things you stole.”“I don’t wanna give up our damn supplies…” Phoebe whispered.“Just do it. He’ll kill us if we don’t.” Avery replied, voice just as soft as Phoebe’s.“Nevermind, I got a plan.”“So…” Phoebe started, slowly lowering her hands. The man’s gun was now trained on her. “I know this is sudden… But I really like how you’re looking today. Are you seeing anyone lately?”“I’m gay.”“...Shit.”





	1. Exposition

**Author's Note:**

> What's up!~ Alright, this is kinda my first story I've ever published in life, so just keep note of that. Moving forward, I don't have anything else to say other than I'll let my work speak for itself, so hopefully you people enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Literally just some exposition for the chapter. Hence the name, exposition.

“The haul’s totally going to be great this time.” The older sibling started, twirling her screwdriver around her hand.

 

“The haul’s only going to be good if we can actually make it, Phoebe.” The younger replied.

 

“Oh shut up, Avery. We only fucked up the last haul because the dude was gay!” Phoebe defended.

 

“Is your only solution to problems flirting?” Avery criticized, looking disappointedly at her sister.

 

“Nope. My other solution is shooting. Don’t you know me at all?” The older grinned.

 

Their conversation dissolved into silence, as the only response Phoebe got was a huff and a scoff. They were walking down a familiar road, the road that used to be bustling with students who had to finish their schoolwork and parents just trying to get their kids to school in time. The road had colorful buildings and shops adorning its sides, where the sunlight made all the colors of this street pop, and a busy vibe that always came with the crowd who had once come through here every weekday. Now most of the buildings were completely run down and broken, walls vandalized and stained with different substances, the busy vibe now replaced with an eerie one, and the once crowded place now had no one walking through except the two sisters. Even the sun didn’t do this place much justice now.

 

Avery and Phoebe were both carrying backpacks, Phoebe lugging around a duffle bag with no supplies as Avery was wearing a big satchel on top of her backpack, filled with their various personal belongings. They were walking on a vast empty road, cars seldomly seen, and even if they were, they were always empty and stationary.

 

“I really do think that we’re going to get a great haul, especially after repeatedly getting shitty supplies from all the other ones.” Phoebe started yet again.

 

“Well, we better, or else we might slowly die of starvation.” Avery stated.

 

“...Woah… That was grim…”

 

“I’m just being real here, if we screw this up one more time then we won’t be alive to screw other things up.”

 

“I know, I know. I’ll try to flirt to the best of my abilities the next time something happens.” Phoebe chuckled at her own statement.

 

“That’s not what I was- Ugh, for an older sister, you are even more impossible than a bratty three-year-old.” Avery scolded.

 

“You love me for it.” Phoebe nudged Avery. “Plus, you’re smiling a little bit~” She said in a sing-song voice, teasing her irritated relative.

 

“I am and I hate it. Now can you shut up for a bit so I can hear if anything’s coming at us?”

 

“Nope. It’s not like I’m screaming out all my words.”

 

“I hate you.”

 

“You love me.”

 

The disagreeing two stopped at some makeshift barricade that blocked the whole turn they were supposed to head into. Garbage cans and dumpsters all piled up, tables and piles of varying items scattered all over that made up a mountain of different objects. There was even a car in the middle of it all, almost completely covered with all the stuff piled on top of it. What really finished the barricade off was the chain link fence, right in front of everything and propped up by the junk mountain behind it. There was a house at each end of the barricade, making it virtually impossible to go around.

 

“Ah, fuck. What the hell are we supposed to do now?” Phoebe threw her arms up in the air in disappointment.

 

“Surely we can’t go around, the houses are blocking our way…” Avery said, right hand under her chin, left placed as a supporting platform for her elbow in a thinking pose.

 

“We can only go up then.” Phoebe said, getting ready to climb.

 

“The barricade is meters high though… Throwing our stuff over before climbing up is out of the question, so we’ll have to carry all our stuff.” Avery’s observation skills were put to work, just as Phoebe’s problem solving skills were exerted to find a way over the makeshift barricade.

 

“And this is the part where what you actually said comes true. We starve and die in the heat of the sun, only for our dead flesh to be cooked and come alive later on.”

 

“And you scolded me for being grim.”

 

“I didn’t scold you, now c’mon, we still gotta get up this thing before sundown.”

 

“It’s early afternoon, we can take our time.”

 

“I’d rather get this done fast and then chill in the school.”

 

“Sure, let’s just hope we have enough stamina to run from anything just in case we need to.” Avery replied, mapping out a route to get up in her head.

 

Phoebe fixed her duffle bag so it was resting completely on her shoulder and wouldn’t slip. She started climbing up the chain link fence, step by step, every now and then adjusting her bag. The rustling and clinking of the metal made a bit of noise, but Phoebe didn’t make any efforts to minimize that.

 

“Avery! Where the hell do I go now?” The girl who was balancing on top of the fence yelled, looking over at the younger.

 

“Head to the table on your left!” Avery directed, gesturing to a brown wooden table a few steps away from Phoebe.

 

The older did as the younger said, reaching the table in a few minutes.

 

“Where do I go next?”

 

“The bin to your right!”

 

The duo yelled back and forth, Avery guiding Phoebe to the top and telling her where to go. Soon enough, Phoebe reached the top. She looked around, appreciating the view she had. The sun was shining particularly bright this day, so it gave her a good view of things. The run down buildings were depressing, but with that came some sort of beauty. Windows were shattered, different surfaces were sprayed with blood, and you saw a corpse here and there, but there was a certain serenity to having little to no one roaming the streets.

 

“Oh fuck, Avery there’s a few zombie fuckers at your back!” Phoebe shouted, warning Avery about the dangers behind her. “There goes the serenity…” She muttered to herself, crossing her arms.

 

The girl in danger turned around, getting her weapon out of her satchel. It was a dirtied kitchen knife, stained with the blood of different reanimated corpses that she had killed a while ago. Her hand gripped the weapon tightly, fingers curled around the sharp object, blade facing towards her as she raised it at the slow walking zombies.

 

 _‘One, two, three, and four.’_ She counted the moving corpses, approaching Avery with groans and moans. Avery was ready to take them on, but they were clumping together. They needed to separate in order for her to kill them successfully.

 

“Hey ugly asses! Get the hell away from my sister! She’s kinda way out of your league, man!” Phoebe yelled from the barricade, taunting the dead. They all turned around in response, and started walking towards her instead.

 

 _‘Alright, this is my chance.’_ Avery thought, silently approaching the back of one of the zombies. Her leg extended out in a kick to the back of its knee, successfully getting the zombie down. Knife raised up right above the zombie’s head, Avery lowered it quickly and stabbed it through its brain. Her knife disconnected smoothly, and soon she was onto the next one.

 

 _‘Kick,’_ She thought as she kicked another zombie down, Phoebe still yelling about how Avery was “way out of their league”. _‘And stab.’_ She did as she thought, and another one was down. A pesky zombie caught wind of what was going on behind it, and turned around. The zombie lunged forward, and grabbed a fistful of Avery’s long, black hair. She yelped in response, stumbling backwards and trying to get her hair free from the undead’s grip.

 

“Get the hell of off me!” She yelled, pulling her hair back frantically, trying to free it from the grasp of the undead before her.

 

Avery’s movement was now desperate, eyes darting around the area to see any other potential danger other than the one at hand. The zombie was moving closer and closer, yet Avery’s eyes were somewhere else. She saw another one farther away from her, and her sister still at the top of the barricade, so she would have a few more seconds to deal with her problem before another one approached her.

 

The girl in danger tried her best to find a solution but her mind was getting cloudy. She stumbled back, hair still not in her own possession, but she would make do. The zombie was a few centimeters apart now, decayed face right in front of her own non-decomposed one. The zombie’s grumbles were flicking spittle on to Avery’s face, and the infinite stamina didn’t make anything easier on her.

 

“I said-” She started, as if talking would make a difference.

 

“She said, get the hell away from her!” Phoebe screamed once again, hoping to distract the zombie.

 

She had distracted the wrong person.

 

Avery lost her footing trying to haul herself back without pulling her hair out if its roots, distracted by Phoebe’s statement, and took account of her imminent fall to the ground trying to figure out a solution before she would be eaten alive while simultaneously trying to gain back her footing as she was falling through the air.

 

_Thud! Clang!_

 

Her back hit the floor as she lost her knife to the laws of gravity. The zombie was now on top of her, hideous sounds coming out of its mouth and spittle flying to Avery’s now dirtied face. She had to think of something. Something that would get her out of the situation, but she couldn’t. Her mind was blocked and she had too many things to keep track of.

 

She was wrestling with the undead entity, but so far no one was winning. She had to think of something to take care of the approaching zombie while she was taking care of this one, she had to keep track of how much noise she made, so nothing else would be attracted to the scene, and she had to find a way to kill the zombie right on top of her. She could do this.

 

_Could she?_

 

That question destroyed Avery’s entire being.

 

Her grip slackened, giving the zombie an opening to get a bite. Its decomposing hand found its way on the downed girl’s throat and pressed down, blocking Avery’s windpipe completely.

 

“Ghk- Awk-!” She started struggling for air, but the more she struggled the more she failed, and the more she failed the more air she lost. She was going to die. Her vision was getting darker and more clouded, the zombie getting closer and closer to its most recent meal.

 

She tried her best to come up with a plan, but she was running out of options. The only thing she could see was vague movement from a dark figure, she could only hear the loud groans of the undead, the rustling of chains, and the dull sound of feet connecting to the ground, and the sound of something sharp sinking through flesh.

 

Yet the zombie was still there.

 

_Why didn’t she just die already?_

 

Avery hadn’t thought of any solution, yet she was still alive to struggle against the attacking zombie. Her so called “observation skills” did nothing for her now. She was just a suffocating hunk of meat that any zombie could snack on.

 

_She couldn’t even come up with something to keep her alive. So much for observation skills._

 

Her vision was now black. No more light for her to see, no more weapon for her to use, no more sister for her to be with. This was it. This is how she dies.

 

Vision no longer in grayscale. No more colors for her to see. Just an endless sight of

 

**_blackness._ **

 

_Complete void._

 

No air for her to breath. Suffocating in silence. Nothing to do. No one to help. Nowhere to go.

 

_J u s t  d i e._

 

_G a m e   o v e r._

  


_Schunk! Shp!_

 

The sound of a stab. A body hit the ground. Weight lifted off of an airless throat.

 

Phoebe had killed the zombie on Avery.

 

“Ah- Hah-” The formerly suffocating girl sputtered and gasped for air which filled her lungs with oxygen. Her vision was still blurry, but she saw the vague figure of her sister and her screwdriver, which was sprayed with a little bit of fresh blood.

 

“Hey, hey… You’re okay! C’mon Buttface, tell me I’m correct… You’re fine, you’ll live! You’re strong like that and you’ll make it. That was just a little stumble! Tell me I’m right Avey, tell me you’re okay and that you’ll still live to be my little sister...” Phoebe said, overwrought with the emotions and panic that was brought by her little sister’s near death experience. She was uttering encouragements and positive statements over and over, but it seemed as if it was only to reassure herself that she wouldn’t be alone again.

 

Phoebe pulled Avery on to her lap, the older supporting the younger’s head with her own legs and removing the hair that clung to the winded girl’s head with her hand. The two siblings were sitting on the ground, surrounding them were the previously reanimated corpses that now lay motionless on the ground near them. Phoebe’s arms were wrapped around her sister in a loose hug, both girls resting in silence.

 

“I-” Avery broke out into a series of coughs as her sister supported her some more. “I’m… I’m fine.” She continued weakly, clearly trying to reassure her sister. It didn’t work.

 

“Oh don’t give me that damn bullshit, you almost just suffocated to death!” Phoebe scolded. A short silence followed that. “I’m serious though, you don’t look fine at all. You seriously look like a buttface right now.” Said Phoebe once again, clearly trying to lighten up the mood.

 

“Tch, we were supposed to let that stupid nickname go.” Avery glared at Phoebe, playing along with her sister’s attempt at lightening the mood.

 

“Well, it seemed to fit the moment…? Technically you still look like a buttface, that zombie dude’s slobber is still all over your face.”

 

“Hey!” Avery sat up and frowned, making Phoebe laugh heartily. The more serious sibling soon enough laughed along with her sister, unable to keep a straight face.

 

“Ah…” Phoebe sighed wistfully, calmed down from the laughing fit she just had.

 

“We better get going. We’re never going to reach the school if we stay on the ground laughing.” Avery prompted, getting up from her sister with grace.

 

“Oh chill, I know I said that I’d rather get to the school today than tomorrow, but in this case we can rest for a bit.” Phoebe said, standing up after her sister.

 

“I’m serious, there’s a zombie at your back.” Said Avery, already walking towards the barricade and vaguely gesturing to the space behind her.

 

“Oh shit, nevermind.” Phoebe said, jogging to catch up with her sister.

  


CHAPTER END

  


 


	2. Exploration of the Closed Classroon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery and Phoebe get inside the school. They explore the area, and go into some abandoned classrooms. Phoebe is starving and her body lets her know it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!~ Hope you like this chapter, it’s been a kinda long time since I posted but whatev. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

“And- Woah...“ Phoebe had just reached the top of the barricade again, along with her sister, Avery.

 

They were on top of the makeshift barricade, behind them was the road they were walking on where Avery had her near death experience, and a single zombie clamoring on the barrier. In front of the siblings were steps, made by tables and chairs, each layer descending about half a meter, leading down until it reached the ground. The tables were small, about half a meter high and a meter long.

 

“Who knew that they added damn steps to the whole barricade?” Asked Phoebe, already going down the steps.

 

“Weren’t you up here before? How did you not see this?” Avery responded, following her sister.

 

“Hey, I was busy watching you!”

 

“Well we all know how you did at that…”

 

“Who the fuck is we? Also, I saved your ass from that drooling piece of shit, so…”

 

“Well…”

 

“See? Your big sister’s not a complete reject.”

 

“...You never were.”

 

“Aww, thanks Avey!”

 

“...No problem. And…”

 

“And?”

 

“...Thanks for not leaving me to die.”

 

“Don’t worry about it.”

 

    The rest of their descent was spent in silence, both girls focusing on their own things. They were now at the other side of the barrier, structures around them in the same state of disrepair as the ones from the other side. The sun was building up its heat, ready to unleash the wave of hotness that came with the transformation from early afternoon to late afternoon. The heat affected the girls, both sweating and panting.

 

“Even after all this running from zombies, I still sweat like a pig.” Phoebe sighed, wiping the excessive sweat off her brow.

 

“Are you serious? How are you not seeing how much I’m sweating right now?” Said Avery, who was borderline drenched with sweat.

 

    The two girls had reached the bottom of the barricade, and were both sweating heavily, Avery more so than Phoebe. Phoebe’s short, black hair stuck to her face, glued by the sticky sweat that was on her face. Avery was much worse, moisture affecting more than just her face, but other parts of her body as well. They pushed forward despite that, and continued to walk.

 

“I’m wondering why they chose to build a barricade with steps.”

 

“It would make sense, since it not only provides easier access but it would also would give them the upper hand if anyone decided to attack them from the other side of the barricade.” Avery added.

 

“So… They literally have the upper hand?”

 

“You are the worst.”

 

“Oh shut up, you think I’m the best.”

 

    Phoebe and Avery reached the front of their school, facing a giant green gate that was blocking their path. The gate was connected to a cobblestone wall which was overrun with moss that decided to pack itself in the different cracks and crevices the wall held, and shards of glass sporting barbed wire which decorated the top of the wall. Phoebe approached the gate, testing it to see if it would open. It didn’t.

 

“So we’re talking about upsies if we wanna get over the damn gate.” Phoebe said, already getting ready climb over the gate.

 

“Upsies? That’s the term you decide to use?” Avery looked at Phoebe incredulously.

 

“Yep. It’s what you used when you were six anyway.”

 

“Just help me get up the gate…”

 

    The gate was about 7 feet tall, a gap that was about an arm’s width on the bottom, and a grill at the top which provided a place to get some leverage. Phoebe crouched down near the bottom of the gate, Avery taking off her backpack and satchel and setting it on the ground near her. The younger got on her sister, climbing on her to set her two feet on each of her older sister’s shoulders.

 

“Wow- I didn’t know you got so damn heavy-” Phoebe grunted, trying to lift her sister up by standing. Avery chose not to respond, opting to place her hands on the gate wall.

 

    Progress was made, and soon enough Avery got her hands on the grills that were on the upper part of the gate, and she climbed over. The girl dropped down to the concrete ground below her, and took in her surroundings.

 

“2 buildings, a roundabout, and a softball field. Huh.” Avery mumbled to herself.

 

    Indeed there were two buildings, a roundabout, and a softball field. Avery was looking at a building right in front of her, walking around and observing its features. One of the buildings, formerly called “Building A” (Back when the world wasn’t overrun by man eating dead people) wasn’t as run down as the buildings outside. It seemed to be as maintained as best as it could’ve been maintained in a zombie apocalypse, while Building B, the other building next to it, was a less clean, most probably due to the fact it was bigger than Building A. The roundabout was in the same state as Building A, with plants alive and dead occupying the circular space in the middle. The softball field was… Completely empty.

 

       Avery’s eyes scanned suspiciously around the area, looking for the tiniest threat, or even a sign of life. She saw nothing. The living girl apprehensively walked back to the gate and unlocked it, letting her impatient sister in.

 

“What the hell took you so long?” Phoebe said, crossing her arms and giving a frown.

 

“I was observing our surroundings, you know, to make sure we don’t die?” Avery replied with sarcasm.

 

“Well you could’ve at least took a little less time…” Phoebe mumbled to herself.

 

“Oh shush you.” Avery started picking up their bags, walking the same way she came. “No signs of life. No zombies, but the buildings seem to be taken care of. Don’t let your guard down just yet.”

 

“I won’t, don’t worry.” Phoebe said, still holding the two sister’s bags. Right in the middle of handing out Avery’s backpack and satchel, Phoebe’s stomach grumbled.

 

“Phoebe… Was that you?” Avery said, barely holding back a snicker.

 

“...Yes it was.” Phoebe said, Avery now hiding her laugh behind her hand. Another grumble was heard after that.

 

“Hahah! You really need a snack don’t you?”

 

“Shut up! I’m hungry as hell, and my body decided to voice it out! My body’s fuckin’ open to its needs.” Phoebe mock - boasted, crossing her arms.

 

“Sure, sure. Believe what you want to, Phoebe.”

 

“Shut up, Ave.”

 

They started walking around the school, exploring all the separate classrooms. Each building they passed by had a hexagonal shape, holding about 5 classrooms and a single teachers room. The classrooms were pretty open, entrance about 6 feet high and 14 feet wide, only completely closed by a sliding door. The sliding door was mostly comprised of glass, wood framing around the panes in a rectangle shape. Inside the classroom were tiny chairs built to hold tiny children, made of wood and painted white. The tables held the same hexagon theme, all in a hexagon shape.

 

“Jesus, just thinking of what these kids are now give me bad vibes.” Phoebe said, hugging herself and looking around with a frightened expression.

 

“You don’t have to think about it if you don’t want to.” Avery said, moving closer to her older sister in a move to comfort.

 

“Yeah but like… Damn. It’s just all those futures.”

 

“There’ll be more kids to bother you as soon as this… Thing... Is over. Don’t worry.”

 

“...Alright.”

 

They continued their exploration in silence, following the pavement path they were walking on.

 

“Up there is the ramp to our library!” Avery said, excited at the thought of books. She started approaching the library.

 

“Geez, sometimes I forget you have a borderline fetish for books.” Said Phoebe, following her sister.

 

“Not fetish, but maybe an infatuation…” Avery said in a dazed manner, staring right at the library.

 

“Oh will you snap out of whatever state you’re in, you classic nerd.” Said Phoebe as she dragged Avery away from the library. “Look, we’ll check that out later, but for now we still need to scout more areas.”

 

The two sisters continued walking away from the library, Phoebe having to restrain her sister from wandering in the establishment in her current dazed state. They continued on, walking through the paths some more until they stopped at another cluster of classrooms.

 

“What the hell? This one’s closed.” Phoebe said, walking around the closed classroom.

 

The big sliding doors were indeed closed to their full capacity, though the area was eerily dark compared to the light the two were in.

 

“It’s not too weird to have closed sliding doors, Phoebe.” Avery said, following her sister.

 

“Well… Yeah, okay that’s true but… Ah you know what? Whatever.” Responded Phoebe as she sat down, back resting against the door.

 

“Are you tired? We can take a break here if you want.” Said Avery as she sat down with her sister.

 

“Yeah, let’s chill here for a bit.”

 

…

 

“Jesus I fuckin’ forgot how hungry I actually am.” Phoebe said, starting up a conversation.

 

“Right after you heard your own stomach growl?” Said Avery, laughing shortly after she completed her sentence.

 

“God damn you, shut up!” Phoebe said, grinning and laughing along with her sister despite her earlier words.

 

“You know I would think I would be completely depressed in the zombie apocalypse, with all the undead and all that, but here I am, laughing with my older sister.” Said Avery.

 

“Well, it’s my job to make you laugh, and I would be a piece of shit sister if I- HOLY FUCK-!” Phoebe jumped up at the sudden banging noise right behind her.

 

There were zombies right behind her, banging on the glass sliding door and smearing old blood on the glass. Phoebe hurriedly dragged her sister out of the way, Avery stumbling trying to regain her balance.

 

“Let’s get the fuck outta here.” Phoebe said, already walking.

 

“Let’s.” Avery followed.

 

“So that’s why the doors were closed.” Said Phoebe as she was walking.

 

“Yep. To keep the zombies inside I presume.”

 

Their speed walking continued, and soon they were in the opposite end of the cluster. This end had no zombies, yet they could be spotted through the glass at the other side of the classrooms. Avery counted them all, about 10 to 15 of them all trapped in the area enclosed the sliding glass door. They were aimlessly walking around, creating gutteral noises as they bumped into eachother without a care, though a small cluster was still banging on the sliding glass door they were previously resting on.

 

“There’s a group of zombies in the cluster of classrooms, around 10 to 15 of them. They’re enclosed in there, but they could be a threat later on. Should we deal with them?” Avery asked.

 

“Not we, me. Alone. Go make sure the perimeter is safe and don’t deal with large numbers of zombies.” Corrected Phoebe.

 

“...Fine. But please don’t get yourself killed.”

 

“I won’t. I’d never leave you alone in this shithole.”

 

“Alright. I’ll keep looking around.”

 

“Be safe.”

 

“You too.”

 

Phoebe quietly opened the sliding door, slipping in with no sound. She looked around, getting her screwdriver to see which target she should kill first. All the zombies were in uniforms, but they weren’t the zombie kids she was imagining. Seems like they were high schoolers like she once used to be.

A curious zombie caught on to the new intruder and started going after Phoebe.

 

_‘Aren’t you a little old to be in the grade school classrooms?’_ Phoebe thought, right as she impaled her screwdriver right through under its jaw.

 

It went completely slack and fell right onto a tiny chair made for the grade schoolers. The chair screeched and made noise as the bigger body of the high school zombie fell right on it.

 

_‘See? Even the goddamn chairs don’t fit you. Actually, I guess it doesn’t really matter now. Nevermind.’_

 

Other zombies caught wind of what was going on and started approaching.

 

_‘Oh goddamnit, your noisy ass attracted your friends!’_ Phoebe ‘tch-ed’ at the now unmoving zombie.

 

She went one by one, kicking over zombies and stabbing them, each step as light as a feather and each stab more silent than a ghost town so as to not attract a lot at a time. Everything was silent until she approached a different zombie, taller and with a different uniform. It was a teacher zombie. It was sporting a tattered black uniform, pencil skirt and long sleeved button down shirt both the same shade of black. The zombie was slow, but its height made it harder for Phoebe’s shorter stature to reach its head.

 

_‘Guess I’ll have to kick this one down.’_ Phoebe thought, kicking the former teacher down.

 

_‘Sorry Miss.’_ She raised her weapon up right about the zombie teacher’s head, ready to stab through when suddenly a hand grabbed her wrist.

 

“Oh shi- What the fuck?” Phoebe spoke out loud, struggling to free herself from the zombie. She looked behind herself and she saw zombie student, a former high schooler again.

 

Her noise attracted the other zombies as she continued to yank her arm from the other zombie’s grip. The others started approaching, the teacher slowly getting up from its floored position to catch the prey that entered their cage.

 

“Oh god fuck, why the hell did I have to say that out loud?” She started kicking at the zombie holding her wrist behind her.

 

The zombies continued to approach, Phoebe getting more frantic about her hand, though she tried to remain calm. She grabbed the screwdriver from her restrained hand, using her right hand instead of her usual left to stab. She turned around, hand still trapped and stabbed the zombie student that held her. The zombie fell to the floor.

 

“That’s what you fuckin’ get.” Phoebe said, proudly, looking at her work, until she heard groans.

 

“Alright, what do you guys want? Come to see my great ass talent?- OH SHIT YOU’RE NEARER THAN I THOUGHT-“ Phoebe screamed at the group of zombies all groaning and grabbing at the hunk of meat before them.

 

Phoebe started running around the classroom, trying to think of a way to kill them all without dying.

 

_‘I can’t kill them all clumped together, or they’ll all grab me before I get the chance to even raise my_

_weapon. So might as well work on separating them all before I kill them.’_

 

She formed a plan in her head, running away some more. She was heading to another open area that was in the middle of all the connected classrooms. It was a sunken area, stone steps leading down to another hexagon shaped plane.

 

_‘I might be able to separate all of them here.’_

 

She looked around to see if there were any stray zombies, yet there were none.

 

“Welp. I guess all my screaming attracted them all to me.” She said, going down to the sunken area.

 

“ALRIGHT HOES, GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE AND GET A FREE SAMPLE OF MY DELICIOUS BOOTY! SLOW BITCHES DON’T WORRY, JUST BE SLOW, IT’S OKAY YOU’LL GET A TASTE TOO, FAST BITCHES BE FAST BUT NOT TOO FAST OR I’LL FUCK YOUR MOM!” Phoebe started screaming, attracting all the zombies to her.

 

_‘If my plan will work, I’ll live. If it doesn’t, I’ll die. Jesus, take the wheel.’_ Phoebe thought, readying her weapon.

 

One by one the zombies separated to their own speeds, less decayed leading the group with a speed walk and more decayed limping sadly at the back of the group.

 

_‘Yas bitch! It worked!’_

 

She started working on each of the zombies once again, kicking them down to one knee and stabbing her screwdriver through their heads. Their bodies all dropped on the stone ground of the sunken area, cluttering the ground with their rotting bodies. Everything was going well until her stomach clenched violently.

 

“Ow!- Fuck!” Phoebe exclaimed, dropping to the ground, gripping her screwdriver with an iron grip.

 

Pain wracked her body as the hunger really took over. She started shaking violently as her body reminded her of how much meals she skipped trying to forage for some. She was sitting on the floor right in the middle of killing some zombies.

 

“Jesus, body… You really know how to let me know of what you need man…” Phoebe grunted, forcing herself to get up. She started violently shaking again and almost fell, but she powered through it and stood up.

 

“God, I still have to run from these man eating zombies… Fuck this shi-“ Phoebe’s complaints were interrupted by a corpse that she almost tripped over.

 

The girl looked behind her, seeing…

 

What was she seeing?

 

Her vision was blurry, and she saw doubles of things. How many zombies was she against? 7? 3? 9…? She couldn’t keep track. Shit, she should just book it.

 

Phoebe started to walk backwards, backing away from the unknown amount of zombies she was up against. Her feet hit a corpse she had killed… A few minutes ago? 30 minutes ago? She didn’t know. She fell over, butt hitting the stone floor in a painful manner.

 

“Oh goddamnit, curse my undernourished body…” Phoebe said, working on backing up.

 

The zombies were still following her, but at that point they were the zombies that were at the back of the group, decayed and slow. Though Phoebe was sure it wouldn’t make a difference since she was slow and sluggish herself. Soon enough she backed up into the steps of the sunken area, and stepped up them. She was wobbling around like a drunk person, but she really didn’t care anymore. She reached the glass doors, and noisily pushed her way through them. She shut the door behind her.

 

“Alright, now time to fuckin’ rest.” She started to sink down to the floor with a contented sigh, when suddenly her stomach clenched once again and she started to wretch violently.

 

“ _Hrk-_ FUCK THIS SHIT-“ She crawled to the end of the cement pathway to a drain right beside it, and proceeded to dry heave into it.

 

Her whole body violently shook again as she retched and heaved right into the drain, wanting to vomit but unable since she had nothing in her stomach. Her vision was blurry, shaking images and duplicated figures filling her eyesight. Her whole body was weak, and right as she was about to collapse she felt a hand on her shoulder.

 

“...Are you okay?”

 

“ _Ulrgh-_ Fuck off.”

 

CHAPTER END


	3. a  Nice Conversation and Some Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phoebe has a nice chat with some tea and scones with her new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you like this chapter, this one's actually a long one, so I'd say allotting some time if you're actually interested in reading. Anyways, hope you enjoy this one!

_Moist._

 

_‘What the hell? Did I just black out?’_

 

Phoebe thought, eyes still closed. She felt a wetness on her mouth.

 

_‘JESUS IS SOMEONE MAKING OUT WITH ME?!’_

 

Phoebe violently spit out whatever was in her mouth, thrashing and trash talking.

 

“Get the fuck off me you perve-! Oh shit there’s no one on me…”

 

Phoebe’s vision soon cleared and she saw an unfamiliar girl holding a water jug up to her mouth. Turns out the girl had been giving water to her. Her eyes were almond shaped with brown irises and ivory skin. She had medium black hair in ponytail that ended just below her shoulders, and the school sports uniform which consisted of black jogging pants with a white logo of a phoenix and two yellow strips that ran around the bottom of each pant leg, a white shirt with a fully colored phoenix at the back with two yellow strips on the armholes and a yellow trimming on the neck hole, and purple shoes with light blue shoelaces. Phoebe was lying down near the place she was retching in, the water she that was formerly in her mouth spit out on the space to her right.

 

“Hold up, you might not be better than a pervert either…” Phoebe said thoughtfully, sitting up.

 

“Trust me, I’m not a pervert. If I was, I wouldn’t have been giving you water and guarding you just in case any zombies came by.” The unknown girl said.

 

“Right.” Said Phoebe, in a decided tone. In truth she was still suspicious, and got up from her lying down position on the ground.

 

As Phoebe sat up, her stomach gave a huge growl as it seized up and started cramping. She groaned out it pain, doubling over and placing her hand right on her stomach.

 

“Fuck! Fuck this shit and fuck my stomach!” She said, head touching her legs.

 

“Is that why you were dry heaving? Because you were hungry?”

 

“ _UGrh-_ What do you think?” Phoebe said, quite irritated. She was pissed at her stomach, and the fact that all her and Avery’s hauls were pure bullshit.

 

“I’m asking to make sure, and for a matter of fact, yes, I do think that’s why you were dry heaving.”

 

“No fucking shit, Sherlock.”

 

…

 

Silence followed after that, Phoebe sure that the girl was holding back from a retort, or at the very least a little irritated at her. She felt a little guilty at her snark, so she decided to try to redeem herself.

 

“Thanks for saving me.”

 

“Here, have a protein bar.”

 

They spoke at the same time, staring at each other in silence yet again. Phoebe broke down in laughter, stopping midway to groan in pain at the disturbance she caused herself, the mysterious girl laughing a more casual laugh. The girl’s eyes crinkled in joy while she was laughing, smile tugging at her lips.

 

“Here, you can have some of my nutrient bars.” The mystery girl reached behind her and dug into most likely a backpack.

 

Phoebe followed the girl’s actions with her eyes, looking behind the girl. She saw a purple backpack with trippy designs all over it, with blue zippers and blue patterns. There were two water jug holders at each side, both filled with one metal water jug each. It was a school backpack. The girl was digging around in it, and managed to get 2 protein bars. As they were being handed to Phoebe, she grabbed them eagerly but stopped.

 

“How do I know this isn’t poisoned?” Phoebe asked, checking the wrappers if there were any breaks in the seal to indicate poison was added in. She opened both of them and sniffed them just for show too.

 

In truth, she didn’t care whether it was poisoned or not. She didn’t believe that it was poisoned either.

 

...She didn’t know how to check for poison.

 

She literally just wanted to have fun.

 

“You really think I would poison you? After I basically saved you?”

 

“...You’re right.”

 

Phoebe decided to drop the act and open them. She scarfed one down in two bites, her cheeks looking like a chipmunk’s.

 

“Mm, thso, what’sh your name?” Phoebe asked, food barely chewed in her mouth. The girl laughed a little at the display.

 

“My name is Lexine, but most people call me Lex.”

 

Phoebe took some of her time to chew through the protein bar, making sure to swallow all of it before she spoke again.

 

“Call me Phoebe.”

 

“...So…” Lex said awkwardly. “What brought you here?”

 

“What is this, an interview?” Phoebe replied with sass.

 

“I’m trying to find out if you’re a threat or not, besides, do you think anyone would try to interview you in the zombie apocalypse?” Lex returned the sass right to its owner.

 

“Well, I am pretty beautiful~” Phoebe said, striking a pose similar to a model, mustering the most ugly face she could. Lex laughed a genuine laugh.

 

“How does beauty even amount to someone interviewing you?”

 

“I honestly do not even know. I literally just wanted to strike a pose.”

 

“I never met anyone this lighthearted during the apocalypse.”

 

“I get that a lot.”

 

“So, what really brought you here?”

 

“I’ve been kinda looking for supplies, food to keep myself alive and stuff. I’m kinda looking for a place to stay, since I don’t really have anywhere to settle.” Phoebe said, careful not to mention her sister. She wasn’t sure if it was safe enough to tell Lex about her sister, even if she seemed pretty cool.

 

“So you need a place to stay, huh?”

 

“Yeah, and supplies, but I can get those myself.”

 

“I mean I have a group with me, so you can stay for a bit.”

 

“Wait, what?”

 

“Yeah, did you think I survived here all this time alone?” Lex asked, unimpressed with Phoebe.

 

“Hey, I don’t know, maybe you’re super skilled and are actually able to do that!” Said Phoebe, defending herself.

 

“Let’s just get going, I’ll show you our base.” Lex said, getting up and offering a hand to Phoebe. She picked up her protein bar and took it, standing alongside with Lex.

 

“Oh yeah, and one more thing,” Said Lex.

 

“Yeah?” Prompted Phoebe.

 

Lex’s hand seized Phoebe’s shirt, pulling her to Lex’s face aggressively.

 

“You try anything on anyone in this group, and you will _never see the light of day again._ ”

 

Lex let go of Phoebe, dusting herself off and wearing her backpack. A short silence followed after that, Phoebe’s head down looking at the floor casting a shadow on the pavement. A smile grew on her face, and soon she started laughing like the funniest joke was just told to her.

 

“Heh heh, that’s really cute! You really think I was _planning something_?” Said Phoebe, unsettling lighthearted tone in her voice.

 

“Well-“ Lex tried to respond, but was interrupted by Phoebe.

 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to worry, I won’t do anything to your group.” Continued Phoebe, placing her hand on Lex’s shoulder in a placating manner. “Now c’mon, where was that base at?” Phoebe said, walking forward in a random direction.

 

“The base is that way, Phoebe.” Lex said, walking the opposite direction Phoebe was heading in.

 

Phoebe turned around and ran to catch up with Lex, slowing down to a regular walk. The walk was silent, everything holding an awkward vibe since Lex’s threat. Both girls were thinking about their own things.

 

 _‘How could she not be intimidated by my threat?’_ Lex thought to herself, asking her own question.

 

 _‘I wonder if I’ll dream about anything tonight…’_ Phoebe thought to herself this time. _‘Speaking of wonder, I wonder where Avery is. I should look for her after this whole thing. Or maybe she’ll find me. Either way, hopefully she’s safe.’_

 

“Hey…” Started Lex.

 

“What?” Replies Phoebe.

 

“I saw you fighting off those zombies.”

 

“Oh what? Huh. Did I give you a show?”

 

“Well I certainly laughed at some things you said at those zombies.”

 

“Heh, I like to have fun with those dead fuckers.”

 

“I can tell. You have a lot of skill.”

 

“I don’t know what made you think that, but thank you very much.”

 

The two continued walking, chatting and joking around like two friends would on lunch period. They passed by multiple buildings, which were all open. Seems the one full of zombies was the only one closed. Made sense. Soon they reached the base, more fortified than the other buildings. Also makes sense. The whole entrance to the base was sunken about a foot and a half, a pathway made with ceramic tiles right in front of the building with steps leading down to the path. Lex and Phoebe were facing one of the ends of the long corridor, a fence to their left and a set of stairs going up to their right. The whole path was covered, so there was a cool shade that surrounded the hall they were heading in. There was another pathway right beside the fence separating the sunken base and a playground right beside it, this time made out of regular cement. The playground was made of colorful plastic and surrounded by green blades of grass, sun shining brightly making the colors of the playground equipment even more vibrant.

 

 _“Please tell me the base is there, please tell me the base is there…”_ Phoebe wished to herself.

 

“I can hear you, you know.” Lex told Phoebe in a matter-of-fact voice. “The base is here.” She gestured to a less fun building.

 

“There go my dreams… And my hopes… And my playground…”

 

“You don’t even own that playground, and for sure you can’t survive on a playground.”

 

“I will happily die for my playground.”

 

“You know what… Sure.”

 

What they were now facing was a regular building. Dull in Phoebe’s eyes, and home in Lex’s. The whole area was sunken down a bit, steps leading down into a shaded area, only some rays of sun coming in. Walking down the steps, Phoebe felt cooler, relieved from the weight of the overbearing sun. Looking around, Phoebe saw a giant dark oak door with a pane of mint green stained glass near the top portion of the door. There were windows the same shade of green as the one on the door, but they were barred with dark gray iron bars and boarded up with walnut boards. There weren’t any other windows. Lex opened the door, and inside were...

 

“Lex!”

 

“Glad to know you aren’t dead, Lex.”

 

A person rushed over and hugged Lex, quite tall with black hair ending just below her shoulders. Phoebe backed up a little to give them some space. She leaned on the doorframe, crossing her arms in a chilling position, watching the person meticulously check Lex for injuries while Lex just laughed and took it. Looking around some more, she saw a third person with a less than happy face. She was a little shorter than the girl checking Lex for injuries, but she had black hair as well, this time in a ponytail. Phoebe gave a smile and a wave to the girl that looked unhappy, and continued to look at Lex, who was still being fussed over.

 

“Are you okay? You didn’t get sick, did you? Ah, I’ll get you some water so we can prevent dehydration.” The girl said, hastily walking away to get some water.

 

“I’m actually okay- Oh never mind, she’ll get the water either way…” Lex said, sighing to herself.

 

Phoebe smiled at the two, the sight reminding her of her beloved sister, Avery. Suddenly her daydream was interrupted by a long, sharp knife to the throat.

 

“Who are you and why are you here?” The frowning girl was way too close for comfort in Phoebe’s opinion.

 

The girl with the knife towered over her, casting a shadow over Phoebe. She got a good look at the frowning girl, up close and personal. The girl’s hair was in a tight, high bun, and she was wearing the same school sports uniform as Lex was, except the shirt was tucked into her pants, and her pants were tucked into her socks.

 

“Kara, don’t!” Phoebe heard Lex say. The two other girls both disregarded it.

 

“Ah, hello! I’m Phoebe, shopping for a nice place to stay in, my realtor called and was showing me this great place!” Phoebe said, false happiness in her voice.

 

_‘It would be a lame way to die if she killed me right now.’_

 

“That response would’ve gotten you killed if you were in front of less merciful people.” The girl with the knife, who she assumed was Kara said.

 

“Then thank you for your mercy.” Said Phoebe, tauntingly.

 

_‘Thank the Lord I did not die for answering back.’_

 

“Now are you gonna answer the question properly or not?” Said Kara, pressing the knife up to Phoebe’s throat.

 

“Kara!” The girl ignored Lex yet again.

 

“I can’t answer if you choke me like this.”

 

“You complain just fine. Are you gonna answer or do I have to make you?”

 

“Who said I have to ans-“

 

“Lex? I have the water you asked for!” The girl that was doting on Lex approached.

 

Phoebe couldn’t see, since she had a face full of the knife wielding girl’s face, but she knew just from the voice she heard. She assumed the silence was when the doting girl realized she was there. The water she was carrying sloshed around from what Phoebe heard, and she assumed was handed to Lex.

 

“Thanks for the water, Mielle, but-“ Lex was interrupted.

 

“Who is this?” Mielle, who Phoebe dubbed “the doting girl”’s tone immediately changed, from a worried mother goose tone to a cold, uncaring one.

 

“Hello, hello, my name is Phoebe, I came here because my realtor told me this was a great place to settle down so I came by to visit!”

 

“She isn’t answering properly.” Kara growled.

 

“Don’t go too crazy, Kara” Mielle said with a mixture of an uncaring and semi - caring tone. She took a step backwards, creating some distance between her and the main suspect. She kept her guard up though, and continued to watch Phoebe.

 

“Fine, fine.” Said Kara, unsatisfied. “It’s still too bad you can’t answer a simple question properly.” She continued.

 

“Hello?! Is anyone gonna listen to me?!” Lex screamed, getting everyone’s attention.

 

Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at Lex, who was angrily stationed with her arms crossed.

 

“Her name is actually Phoebe. She came here because she needed supplies and a place to stay. She’s my _friend,_ so I would appreciate it if you didn’t _threaten her with a knife._ ”

 

“Oh…” Mielle said, from what Phoebe heard in regret.

 

An awkward silence followed after that.

 

“Okay we’re working this out.” Lex said, dragging Mielle to the corridor right beside the room. Lex gave Kara a ‘follow me’ look, and she refused.

 

“You know why I’m staying here.”

 

“Kara it’s a few minutes, just let this happen.”

 

A few stares later and they all proceeded to huddle up near the corridor, away from Phoebe’s eyes. Phoebe sighed and sat down out of her tiredness on the black leather couch that was in the room. She finally got a good look at where she was hopefully staying.

 

The room was yellow. Really yellow. Blindingly yellow even with boarded up windows. There was a reception desk right across from her and to the right of the door, and to the left of it was a decorative potted plant. In front of her was a small glass coffee table with a wooden lining, and right to the front of it was the same black leather couch she was sitting on at that moment. On top were school magazines and newspapers, seemingly strategically placed to make the table seem less empty. Beside the room was a corridor, where the group of girls were talking. The corridor had an aqua green paint job, with multiple doors the same style as the double door in the entrance.

 

 _‘I should probably listen in to their conversation.’_ Phoebe said, sighing and getting a newspaper to cover the fact that she’s eavesdropping on her future roommates’ conversation.

 

 _“Are we really doing this here? We’re two feet apart from that girl. She can hear us.”_ What Phoebe heard as ‘Kara’ said.

 

 _‘That’s sad because it’s true…’_ Phoebe thought to herself.

 

 _“Can we just get this over with? The more time we waste, the more Phoebe has to snoop around our base.”_ Lex said with a gallon of sarcasm on her last statement.

 

 _“Both Kara and Lex have a point, so let’s just get this over with.”_ Mielle said.

 

 _“Are we actually letting this stranger have our base? She could literally kill us at any moment.”_ Kara said.

 

 _“How are we supposed to expand our base like you wanted with three people? Let’s just get her now, she’s really skilled and I’m sure she could be a lot of help for us.”_ Lex justified.

 

 _‘I’m really skilled in other areas too~’_ Phoebe thought and snickered… Until she realized what she said.

 

“Oh god what am I doing…” She mumbled in regret.

 

 _“Tell me one thing where she’s supposedly ‘skilled’ at.”_ Said Kara, already expecting a bad answer.

 

 _“Oh, so you’re challenging me now?”_ Lex asked, provoked

 

 _“I’m_ _asking_ _you, not challenging you.”_ Kara bit back.

 

 _“I’m actually curious, what did Phoebe do to make you that comfortable?”_ Mielle asked.

 

 _‘Holy shit I didn’t even know Mielle was gonna pitch in the conversation. But also, Lex answer, I wanna know too.’_ Thought Phoebe again, commenting on the conversation.

 

 _“I’m not comfortable, I’m being nice for the sake of being nice.”_ Lex said.

 

_‘...I’m sure I did something to deserve that.’_

 

 _“Well what did she do?”_ Kara started again.

 

_“She killed the group of zombies we had in the cluster.”_

 

_“So she killed a few zombies, what’s the big deal?”_

 

_“She killed almost all of them.”_

 

_“What?”_

 

_“She left 3 of the most decayed ones, meaning she killed everything else. I saw the bodies on the floor.”_

 

_“Then she had help, no way she could do that on her own.”_

 

_“She was alone when I saw her, and she didn’t meet anyone else after.”_

 

An impressed silence followed after that. Phoebe straightened her back in pride.

 

_‘A mark of a true Cadwell.’_

 

 _“She kinda dry heaved right after.”_ Said Lex.

 

 _‘Also a mark of a true Cadwell.’_ Phoebe thought with less pride.

 

 _“Of course she dry heaved right after. Was she disgusted by the zombies?”_ Kara asked.

 

_“I think it was because she hasn’t eaten anything in a while.”_

 

 _“You’re saying that she killed all those zombies while she was starving?”_ Mielle chimed in.

 

_“Which proves how much more of a danger she is.”_

 

_“Oh c’mon, let’s just face the fact that we need more people in the group!”_

 

 _“Can we all just talk to her? Find out if she’s worth it ourselves.”_ Mielle said, stopping the argument between Lex and Kara.

 

_“Makes sense.”_

 

_“Let’s go.”_

 

_‘I need to belong to this group here and now.’_

 

The thumping of feet reached Phoebe’s ears as she prayed to get accepted into the group. Each girl had their own walk, Kara’s powerful, Lex’s more casual, and Mielle’s… Silent with her head slightly bowed… Phoebe couldn’t figure out why.

 

“Had a nice girl talk?” Phoebe joked.

 

“Don’t try to act casual with me.” Kara said, stopping in front the joking girl. Mielle and Lex took each of Kara’s sides.

 

“...I feel like a kid being reprimanded by my parents and an extra person. What did I do wrong?” Phoebe tried to joke again. Lex laughed, and Kara remained as stoic as ever. Mielle didn’t seem to have a reaction. “C’mon! The guest shouldn’t be asking the hosts to sit down!”

 

“Right, sorry sorry. We never even introduced each other!” Lex said while sitting down. “Alright, I’m Lexine Carter, that’s Kara Blackwood right there.” Lex said, gesturing to her left.

 

Lex gestured to Kara, a little shorter than Mielle but still really tall, with hair in a tight bun. She had natural beige skin and no glasses. Her uniform shirt was tucked in, and her jogging pants were tucked into her socks.

 

“And this is Mielle,”

 

She had caramel toned skin, with her shoulder length hair let down but held back by a cherry red hairband. Her face had two pieces of hair framing her face and small, rectangular, glossy amethyst purple and black glasses.

 

“Hi…” Mielle said awkwardly.

 

“Hello. Alright, now for my introduction,” Said Phoebe. “My name is Phoebe Cadwell, and I came here looking for some supplies.” Phoebe gave a smile and a lighthearted tone.

 

 _‘Still not good enough to get to know my sister… But I need the base just in case they are…’_ She thought to herself.

 

“Ah, well…” Lex started.

 

Their conversation carried on for around half an hour, Phoebe pulling out every trick up her sleeve to warm up the crowd. Her mouth was spouting jokes and funny stories, but her mind drifted off to Avery. She was starting to get worried, but she couldn’t leave or she would get found out. Her obsessiveness grew, and she decided to tell the new squad about Avery.

 

“So I’m over here chatting with some of my old friends, and we’re messing around! Literally we started a game where we tell each other the most _ridiculous_ stories ever, so then I tell one! Ask me what I came up with.” Phoebe said.

 

“What did you come up with?” Asked Mielle.

 

“I said, ‘So I was going to the police station with my friend Shaniqua, and we both kiss an officer for a dare! Then he fucked me and I got pregnant with twins, and Shaniqua tells me to name them Jamaica and Colombia, and I agree!’” All the girls laugh at the story, Phoebe laughing once again, slapping her thigh. Lex laughs openly, Mielle giggles, and Kara suppresses a laugh.

 

“Oh, oh, and that’s not it!” Phoebe started yet again.

 

“How can that ridiculous story not be it?” Lex asked, still laughing.

 

“You’ll love this, I swear.” Phoebe said in the middle of her laughter. She took a moment to calm down, and continued. “Turns out, my mom was listening in, and that crazy bitch made me take a pregnancy test, looked through the school records if there was actually a Shaniqua, AND she actually went to our local police station and questioned ALL the policemen there!” Lex burst out in more laughter, Mielle finally broke and started laughing, Kara was hiding her laughter more poorly than before, and Phoebe was crying from laughter.

 

“Jesus are you crying?” Kara asked incredulously.

 

“I cry when things get funny! It's a thing!” Phoebe justified.

 

The laughter died down, and everyone calmed down a bit. Phoebe sighed in content. Everyone had smiles on their faces, though Kara’s was more of a ‘I hate you so I’m not going to smile but that was funny so I’ll let out a small smile’.

 

 _‘You know what, I think they deserve to know about my sister.’_ Phoebe thought to herself, smile getting impossibly bigger.

 

“Alright, you guys already made me smile enough today, and if it wasn’t for Lex I would’ve still been dry heaving on the sidewalk.” Said Phoebe.

 

“I don’t think we’ve heard that story yet.” Mielle said.

 

“Oh, trust me, that one was hilarious.” Lex said.

 

“We'll tell you another time Mielle, but first, I have some news…” Said Phoebe with a tone like she was leading something. There was a silence to allow her to speak.

 

“I came here with my sister, Avery. She’s a hell of a girl, and I didn’t tell you because I wanted to make sure everything was good here before I mentioned her.” Everyone was surprised. Kara’s expression changed, completely.

 

“You have a sister?” Kara asked. Everyone else started asking similar questions.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I do, and I think it’s been way too long since I confirmed she was alive so is it okay if I go find her?” Phoebe said with a sense of urgency, ready to get up at the moment but also waiting for the go sign.

 

“Oh, we’ll help you look for your sister-“ Lex started until the door burst open.

 

“Phoebe! The haul’s great! I haven’t even seen any people! There are barely any zombies either so I didn’t have to deal with a lot, and I’m going to need another hand carrying another load!” Avery burst through the door with a mountain of supplies in her arms. Everyone stopped in their tracks.

 

“...Well that was convenient.”

 

CHAPTER END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you the chapter was long... Continuing on, hope you liked this one, moving the plot a long a little bit, so yeah. See you in the next chapter!


	4. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery shows up after a nice stroll in the school. Phoebe tries to get her and her sister a base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Another chapter after 500 years! This one’s shorter than usual, so keep that in mind. Anyways, enjoy the chap bros

“...Well that was convenient.” Phoebe said, side comment escaping her mouth.

 

Kara immediately stood up and drew her weapon, the knife that she threatened Phoebe with, and sprinted towards Avery. The knife’s sharp side was facing towards Phoebe’s sister, its metal glinting in the light, approaching fast at its target. Phoebe caught this, running just a little faster than her new “friend”. Phoebe pulled out her screwdriver in the blink of an eye, stopping just in front of Avery. Her screwdriver held the incoming knife at bay, producing a satisfying _‘shink!’_ sound.

 

“Hold up there, pal! That’s my compadre you’re talking to!” Phoebe said, holding her own and hoping she could push Kara’s knife back far enough.

 

“So you planned this? So your “compadre” could just raid our supplies while you distracted us?” Kara said, mocking Phoebe’s use of the word ‘compadre’, forcing her knife closer to her current target’s throat.

 

“I actually need a base, so that wouldn’t help anyone if I actually planned to steal all your supplies while at the same time stay with you guys…” Said Phoebe with sarcasm practically dripping out of her mouth. She made no attempts to get some distance between her throat and the knife.

 

“You act like a dumbass, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone like you actually did it.” Kara hit with poison. Phoebe took it to heart.

 

Kara’s expression was of cold, calculated, aggression. She tested out the waters with a generic insult, and seemed as if Phoebe took the bait hook, line, and sinker. They were both battling for dominance, Kara so far having the upper hand with the knife closer to Phoebe’s throat than her own. Phoebe’s eyebrows were furrowed almost completely, upper lip pulled up in a disgusted expression, dark brown eyes holding a bit of surprise, as if she didn’t expect Kara to say something like that.

 

Kara’s expression looked much more calm compared to Phoebe’s, eyebrows less furrowed and a small, proud grin that grew every time she managed to rile up Phoebe. Mielle and Lex were stunned, watching the show idly while Avery set down the supplies she got. She would follow her sister’s lead, but what she saw wasn’t a good sign. A silence followed, Phoebe’s eyes darting around in anger and her breathing getting more and more ragged.

 

“Phoebe, I think you should-“

 

_Shing!_

 

 _“You think you’re playing some game? You think that dinky piece of metal is going to cut through_ ** _us?_** _”_ Phoebe gritted her teeth, gesturing to her sister and herself, unsettling low growl produced from her throat. She took the time to laugh maniacally, forcing the back of Kara’s knife closer to her throat.

 

The duo was standing face to face, everyone else in the room to the sidelines. Kara’s other arm shot up to defend herself, but Phoebe caught it before any damage could be dealt.

 

 _“Don’t mistake me for a lighthearted, defenseless skank just because I told you guys a few funny stories. You don’t know all the people I killed, and you don’t know how many are barely alive. You can’t hurt me, you can’t hurt her. You can’t run or hide either._ **_You can’t win, so maybe quit while you’re ahead_ ** _.”_ Everyone froze. There was no sound apart from Phoebe’s ragged breathing. Her smile was as wide as a clown’s, Kara’s proud smirk completely gone.

 

The back of the knife was pressed even more to the the bewildered girl’s throat, cutting open a little skin. Mielle’s eyes went wide, as Lex charged fully towards Phoebe, but Mielle held her back.

 

 _“What are you doing Mielle?!”_ Lex asked angrily.

 

 _“I’m saving you from doing something you’ll regret.”_ Mielle responded. _“Calm down.”_ She continued, a firm grip placed on Lex’s shoulders. No one moved after that.

 

Phoebe’s muscles relaxed after a while, and Kara took that chance to shove her away with a disgusted “Eugh.”

 

“So the comedian finally snaps. You think telling a few stupid bluffs is going to scare me away?”

 

“They’re not blu-!“ Phoebe said heatedly, but was interrupted.

 

“Oh really? I don’t have to run if I’m the one chasing after you.” Kara took a wide step closer to Phoebe.

 

“I don’t have to hide if I’m the one finding you.” Another step.

 

“My victory is already insured.” The last step. Kara was towering over Phoebe, like a lion would over a small dog. She wiped the blood on her neck with the back of her hand.  She had said all her sentences with pride and confidence, barely even treating Phoebe as a threat.

 

Phoebe bared her teeth, growling her meanest and seizing Kara. Lex ran up to Kara, Avery running up to Phoebe. Mielle followed Lex. Lex stood by Kara’s side, weapon drawn, while a hand grasped Phoebe’s. It was Avery’s. The younger sister stared up at Phoebe with a pleading look.

 

“Can everyone just stop this craziness and talk about this?” Mielle said after a long moment of silence.

 

“We are _NOT_ talking about this with a psycho in this room.” Lex said, pointedly looking at Phoebe.

 

 _“We’re never getting a place to stay now…”_ Phoebe mumbled to Avery.

 

“I heard that. What makes you think you were ever going to get here in the first place?” Kara scoffed.

 

“You _threatened_ one of the people in this group.” Lex stated.

 

“And we found you with _our_ supplies.” Mielle joined in.

 

“Eh… Uhm…” Phoebe bumbled around.

 

“Uhm?” Lex asked, mocking tone indicating for Phoebe to continue on.

 

“Uh… Oh fuck it, I can’t think anymore. Avery, do your thing.”

 

“What thi-“

 

“You need us in your group.” Avery interrupted Lex with a bold statement.

 

“ _Psh,_ ” Kara scoffed. “And what makes you say _that_ , huh?”

 

“I took a look at all your defenses. All of them are good, but they’re all incomplete. I’m assuming the giant makeshift barricade blocking the whole road to the school was you, but that’s the only major thing I saw. The shards of glass and barbed wire protecting the walls run out after you walk alongside them for a bit. This is the only building properly secured, and the building where you keep your food is only half secured.” Avery said, recounting everything she saw from scouting the area.

 

“We’re _working on it_. I’m sure you two don’t know the value of hard work though, since all you seem to do is steal from people doing better than you ever will.” Kara said, this time testing out her trash talk on Avery, seeing if she would react the same way as Phoebe would.

 

‘ _I SWEAR TO GOD I’LL KILL EVERYONE HERE-‘_ Phoebe thought to herself, straightening up and gripping her screwdriver in a ready position. Avery knew her sister would get angered, and held her hand in a comforting and restricting manner.

 

“There’s no need for generic trash talk here. I’m merely explaining what I see, and why you need us here. You’re going to need more than three people to secure this type of ground.” Avery remained calm, the opposite reaction of her sister.

 

“Three people can do just fine, especially without the help of two complete psychos.” Lex said, crossing her arms in an intimidating manner.

 

“Speaking of psychos,” Avery said. “Phoebe was _provoked_. She did what she did because of your insults. And for your information, a real psycho would’ve sliced Kara’s head off just like that.” She snapped right after her statement to make a point. There was a silence after that, no one wanting to say anything, but Avery.

 

“Face it. You need more people. Why not us? You could’ve gotten two actual psychos, and they could’ve actually sliced your heads off, but instead you got a couple of reasonable people who haven’t sliced your heads off.” Another silence followed Avery’s spiel.

 

“Excuse us for a bit.” Mielle said, hurriedly dragging her two companions to the hallway beside the yellow room.

 

“We’re totally having a secret meeting too.” Phoebe said, dragging Avery near the double doors she recently burst through. The two stopped near the door, complete silence accompanying them.

 

 _“OH MY GOD I CUT HER THROAT UGHLURGB-“_ Phoebe scream whispered.

 

 _“Why would you do that?! What’s your plan?!”_ Avery asked, whispering as well.

 

_“I DON’T KNOW- I JUST WANTED A BASE!”_

 

Avery took a deep breath.

 

_“Okay, let’s start with WHAT WAS THAT FOR IF YOU WANTED THE BASE?!”_

 

_“I DON’T KNOW THAT EITHER, I’M JUST SAD THAT I DIDN’T GET A PLAYGROUND!”_

 

_“...What playground? The one outside?”_

 

_“Oh don’t mind that, it’s for the people who remember the previous chapter.”_

 

_“What?”_

 

 _“Nothing, now let’s catch all the juicy drama that squad’s talking about!”_ Phoebe whispered with a classic white girl accent.

 

 _“Phoebe.”_ Avery called, whispering her sisters name and giving her a commanding look.

 

 _“No, I don’t want to…”_ Phoebe got the look and whined.

 

_“Apologize to Kara and the others if as soon as they come back here.”_

 

 _“Fine, but not because you told me to.”_ Avery and Phoebe ended the discussion and proceeded to approach the three other girls, footstep as light as a feather so as to avoid any sound.

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

 

 _“We are_ _not_ _adding her into this group.”_ Lex whispered.

 

 _“They make a good point though.”_ Mielle said.

 

 _“But I still don’t trust them, no matter what that other girl says.”_ Responded Lex.

 

 _“Even if Phoebe’s a hothead, she’ll do good for this group.”_ Kara pitched in.

 

 _“I thought you hated her?”_ Lex said.

 

_“Oh I fucking hate everything she stands for, if I had it my way she wouldn’t even be able to reach here.”_

 

_“Then let’s just kick her out now.”_

 

_“My way is an actually fortified base with over a hundred people ready to kill on sight. We don’t have that, so we’re just going to have to keep her.”_

 

 _“Are we just going to continue talking about those two_ _ humans _ _like animals?”_ Mielle suddenly asked.

 

 _“Well one of them has to stop acting like one in order to be treated as a real person.”_ Said Lex angrily.

 

_“That doesn’t mean we actually have to treat her like one.”_

 

 _“We’re getting off topic, just let her stay.”_ Kara said.

 

 _“Let’s kick her out.”_ Lex said at the same time as Kara.

 

_“What do you mean kick her out? Don’t you-“_

 

 _“How about we compromise?”_ Mielle said, interrupting Kara. _“We let them stay until they get back on their feet, and then kick them out. There.”_ Mielle continued.

 

 _“Well…”_ Lex started.

 

 _“Fine. You better keep that promise.”_ Kara said.

 

 _“Yeah, fine.”_ Agreed Lex.

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

 

 _“Well Kara certainly got it right at the hothead part.”_ Phoebe said in a hushed tone to her sister.

 

 _“It’s nice to know we’re actually staying.”_ Avery replied, same hushed tone as Phoebe’s.

 

 _“Oh shut up, you knew that we were going to stay here from the first place.”_ Phoebe said.

 

 _“How could you? I’m as innocent as a child!”_ Avery joked. Both girls had to resist laughing too loudly.

 

Phoebe was leaning on the wall again, smile on her face and teeth showing. Avery was right beside her, standing straight with good posture with a small smile. Both girls perked up when Kara, Mielle, and Lex walked in the room.

 

“So? What’s the verdict? Grounded or not grounded?” Phoebe said jokingly.

 

“You can stay here, but we’re kicking you out after a week.” Kara said coldly.

 

“Awesome! Thanks so much!” Said Phoebe, walking up to Kara for a hug. Kara pulled out her knife and aimed it at Phoebe’s chest.

 

“Don’t. Even. Try.”

 

“Right… Uh, thanks dude.” Phoebe said once again more awkwardly, backing off a little.

 

“Thanks for letting us stay here.” Said Avery, formal tone in her voice.

 

“On one condition.” Said Lex.

 

“You have to help us fortify the base.” Completed Mielle.

 

“Easy enough. Now where do we stay?” Phoebe asked.

 

 _‘Fuck this shit, quite frankly I’m lazy, and I will do anything I can to skip out of fortifying this giant hunk of land.’_ Phoebe thought to herself.

 

“Outside.” Lex said.

 

“No, not outside, we have a few spare rooms down the hall. Lex, would you mind guiding them there while Kara and I get dinner ready?” Mielle requested.

 

“Fine.” Lex begrudgingly accepted.

 

“Thanks.” Mielle and Kara walked off to what Phoebe assumed was the kitchen area.

 

“So, where’s the hotel suite?” Phoebe said, trying to lighten up the mood.

 

“Your so called ‘hotel suite’ should’ve been outside.” Lex replied with snark.

 

“What happened to that whole friends thing? We were talking like besties the whole time we were walking here!” Phoebe asked.

 

“I warned you not to mess with my squad already. You’re just lucky that I didn’t do anything to you yet.”

 

“Look, I’m so-“ Phoebe tried to apologize.

 

“Save it for when it actually matters. Those are the rooms.” Lex gestured to two doors in the green hallway connected to the yellow room.

 

The doors were the same design as the two double doors that led into the building, though they were only single doors. Lex walked away without a word, and the two were left to themselves.

 

“Seems like I really screwed it up this time.” Phoebe sighed.

 

“Or Lex actually just cares about the people she values.” Avery replied.

 

“You’re right.” Phoebe said, walking into one of the rooms Lex pointed at.

 

The two entered the room, finding a cyan blue painted wall, a shelf with a  small cabinet at the bottom, desk and chair, and couch. It was a cozy room with space to walk around and rest on, a dark blue couch on the wall where the door was placed, white shelf and cabinet to the right of the couch, and a desk painted white with a birch countertop. The chair had a backrest and was painted the same white as the desk, navy blue cushion placed on the seating area.

 

“I almost forgot that I was carrying these bags.” Phoebe said, setting them down on the floor.

 

“How could you forget those were on your shoulders?” Avery asked.

 

“I have no idea. I think I have amnesia or something.” Phoebe answered.

 

“That’s sad because I can’t say otherwise.” Said Avery. The two girls laugh, Phoebe putting on a small grin.

 

“Alright, let’s get to unpacking.”

 

CHAPTER END

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s the end of the chapter. Not really super eventful, but it helps with the plot. Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading, see you next chap!


	5. Dinner and Guests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gals have dinner, and they get some pleasant guests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! The chapter’s back to regular length now, so sit back, relax, and enjoy!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: There’s kinda some pervert-ish, things in here, so I’d say be mindful of that. Not super intense though, so that’s a thing. But also it’ll get pretty violent, like super violent, so watch out for that. You can skip this one if you like, I’ll provide a summary of what happened in the next one. Love you guyz <3

“I can’t believe we’re actually letting _them_ stay here.”

 

Lex said, entering what she called the “dining room”. The room was painted red, multiple square wooden tables placed together in the middle of the room with about 10 wooden chairs surrounding the table. Attached to the walls of the room were counters and a sink, and right beside that was a fridge that didn’t work. Above the counters were wooden cabinets, each containing different food. On one counter was a portable stove, which Mielle was using to heat canned soup in a pot. Kara was leaning on the sink, washing the blood off her knife. The room was dark considering its lack of windows and the time of night it was, but multiple candles were strewn around the surfaces of the counters and tables to keep the place well lit.

 

“It’s only for a few days, then we’ll kick the both of them out.” Mielle said briefly, stirring the soup with a wooden spoon.

 

“And I’ll give them hell the whole time they’re here.” Said Kara distractedly, searching through the overhead cabinets for a rag to dry her knife with.

 

Lex chuckled at the statement, opting to sit down on one of the chairs. Silence went by, Kara quietly drying her knife and Mielle stirring the soup. Lex enjoyed the display, relaxing more in the wooden chair she was sitting on. The silence was broken by Mielle humming a slower version of “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars, a song that the three of them knew. She was still stirring their dinner, that time more seldom than she did before, eyes scanning around for bowls to put their meal in. Lex knew Mielle’s intentions, and stood up to look for the bowls herself. Kara immediately took Lex’s place, sitting down and carving random symbols on the wooden table with her knife boredly.

 

“Thanks for setting the table, Lex.” Mielle thanked, smiling warmly at her companion.

 

“It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done.” Lex responded.

 

“Oh stop it- Kara you’re still hurt!” Mielle rushed over to the seated Kara, still carrying the wooden spoon she was cooking with. Lex immediately took over for Mielle, grabbing the spoon that Mielle was stirring with, making sure to pay attention to the conversation happening beside her.

 

“I’m fine. It’s a tiny cut, that’s probably healed over. I’m sure you’re only seeing the blood leftover.” Kara played it off like it was nothing. Mielle didn’t buy it.

 

“Here, let me get the first aid kit.” Said Mielle, searching the cabinets yet again for the first aid kit as Kara rolled her eyes and sat back. Lex silently chuckled at the display.

 

Lex continued to stir the soup while Mielle got the first aid kit. She washed her hands under the running water of the sink, careful to clean any dirt that may have gotten on her hands. She dried them off with a spare rag lying around on the counters, and proceeded to tend to Kara.

 

“You really don’t have to do this, you know.” Said Kara.

 

“I don’t, yet I still do. Please hold still.” Mielle said, focused on her work.

She went back to the sink and dampened the rag she used earlier, going back to Kara to clean the cut.

 

“Look up?” Mielle requested, Kara followed.

 

Kara was sprawled on the chair she was sitting on, her weapon’s tip embedded on the table she was carving on earlier, making the knife stand up perfectly. She sat up straight, tilting her head up so her neck was exposed. Mielle bent down, moving her face closer to Kara’s so she could see what was going on better in the dimly lit room. Their position was uncomfortably close, Kara looking up, pupils moving around awkwardly due to the fact that her friend was inches away from her neck.

 

“Are you going to _do something?_ I can literally feel your breath on my neck-!” Kara flinched and shuddered as soon as Mielle rubbed the damp cloth on the cut. Mielle giggled, using her other hand to cover the smile that had formed on her face.

 

“You did that on purpose.”

 

“I didn’t, I swear.” Mielle said unconvincingly, barely paying attention to what Kara was saying. “Now please continue looking up so I can clean your cut.” Mielle continued, conversation dissolving into silence.

 

Mielle focused on rubbing the dry blood off of Kara’s neck in a gentle manner, so as to not hurt her friend. After the process, Mielle had set the rag down and proceeded to soak a cotton ball with disinfectant. She gently rubbed the cotton ball on the cut, though despite Mielle’s actions Kara winced in pain and drew in a sharp breath.

 

“Does it hurt? Don’t worry, it’ll only be for a second.”

 

“Stop treating me like a child, _Mielle_. I’m perfectly capa-“

 

 _“I’m not stupid, Kara. I know what I see, so just let me help you. I know you like to prove to everyone that nothing phases you, but to me and a lot of people you’ve already done that. Now hold still or I might end up doing something wrong.”_ Mielle held Kara back with her spare hand, saying what she wanted to in a hushed tone.

 

She had a stern and commanding look on her face, a look saying _“Don’t fight me on this.”_. Kara reluctantly followed, opting to stay silent. Kara pulled her head up, eyes darting around the ceiling yet again in awkwardness. The injured girl could hear and feel her companion’s breathing on her neck, no other noise other than the stirring of the soup pot. The lack of events happening made the atmosphere uncomfortable, everyone focused on their own thing. Before Kara knew it she felt a bandaid being applied to her neck, accompanied by a “Good as new!” From Mielle.

 

“Thanks Mielle.” Kara grumbled.

 

“No problem Kara. Lex, is the soup warmed?” Mielle asked.

 

“I can’t even tell. You guys distracted me with all the gay stuff that just happened.”

 

“Lex!” Mielle scolded playfully.

 

“Shut up Lex, I could’ve handled myself if Mielle didn’t worry so much about me.” Kara pointedly looked at Mielle.

 

“Oh really? You would’ve left that wound there and it would’ve gotten infected, Kara. Then you really would’ve needed me.” Mielle fired back, smirking proudly.

 

 _“And you were blushing while Mielle was fixing you up.”_ Lex said quietly and quickly, turning back to the soup and stirring it guiltlessly.

 

“I did **_what?!_ ** _”_ Kara yelled, standing up suddenly as Mielle started to laugh openly.

 

 _“And there it is again. Another blush.”_ Lex continued.

 

“Lex I will _kill_ you-“ Kara started up, but was suddenly interrupted.

 

“...So… Is dinner on yet?” Phoebe peeked in the door, looking around the room. The lighthearted atmosphere changed into one of hatred as soon as Phoebe entered.

 

“Oh of course _she_ had to ruin it.” Lex scoffed.

 

“No actual harm done, man. Just wanted to ask if dinner was ready yet.”

 

“Dinner will be ready when it’s-“

 

“What Lex _means_ is that dinner is almost ready. Why don’t you get your friend and come sit down with us?” Mielle requested.

 

“Actually I’m right here…” Avery said awkwardly, emerging from the other side of the door leading into the dining room.

 

“Okay, take your seats.” Mielle said.

 

The room dissolved into silence yet again, the two sisters taking their seats on the wooden chairs surrounding the tables. Mielle packed up the first aid kit, storing it back in the overhead cabinet that she found it in. Lex shut off the portable stove, carrying the pot of soup to the table with the help of the rag Mielle was using earlier. Kara kept her place at the table, playing with her knife in hopes of intimidating at least one of the sisters. Everyone worked in a tense silence.

 

…

 

Phoebe started beatboxing out of boredom, earning scornful looks from Kara and Lex.

 

“Are you trying to attract all the zombies here?” Kara snapped.

 

“Nope. Just trying to relieve my boredom.” Phoebe said nonchalantly.

 

“Can’t you find some other way to ‘relieve your boredom’?” Lex asked, irritated by Phoebe’s actions.

 

“Nah.” Phoebe declined, continuing to beatbox louder.

 

Avery looked at Phoebe with a look that said “Stop beatboxing.”, and she obeyed. Lex had set the pot down on the center of the table, as Mielle took her seat. Everyone was seated around the table, hungry and ready to eat.

 

“Kara, do you mind serving the soup?” Mielle requested.

 

“Sure.”

 

The scene was high with tension, no one bothering to make conversation. Kara was pouring the soup into her companion’s bowls, considering their lack of a ladle to properly transport the soup. She poured the soup with a warm smile and nod, until she got to Phoebe. She paused with an irritated look, not bothering to do anything.

 

“Look dude, just give me the soup.” Phoebe said.

 

“I don’t desire to. In your words, nah.” Kara answered.

 

Kara chose to give the soup to Avery, who kept her head low and mumbled a quiet “Thank you.” After a serving was poured in her bowl. Kara then returned to Phoebe, pouring the last of the soup in her bowl. They all ate in silence, a trend that kept occurring the whole time they were preparing dinner. The only sound heard was the clinking and clanking of the spoons hitting the bowls.

 

“...The clam chowder’s pretty good… Was it anyone’s recipe?” Phoebe broke the silence.

 

“It’s canned clam chowder.” Lex responded, ending the conversation as soon as it started.

 

“Look, I’m sorry for lashing out earlier. I was just pissed and hungry from all the shit that I went through, and maybe I went all psycho earlier. Thanks for giving us food and a place to stay despite all that happened.” Phoebe said, apologizing earnestly.

 

“ _Maybe_ you went all psycho? _Maybe_?” Kara mocked.

 

“I swear to god I apologize and _that’s_ what you focus on-?!” Phoebe jumped up from her seat, ready to start a fist fight as Kara stood up and got her knife.

 

Avery blocked her sister with her arm before anything could happen, leading Phoebe to sit down with apprehension. Kara remained standing until Mielle gestured her to sit back down.

 

“What Phoebe meant to say was that we’re both looking forward to making it up to you in any way possible. Right, Phoebe?” Avery asked, looking to Phoebe to continue their apology.

 

“Yeah. So can we just agree to start from before Avery burst in here with all your supPLIES WHAT THE FUCK-“ Phoebe started, trying to continue her apology until she was interrupted by two men bursting through the door.

 

“HANDS UP, WEAPONS DOWN AND NOBODY GETS HURT!”

 

“WAIT WHAT ABOUT MY SOUP-“ Phoebe yelled, stopping herself when she realized who came through the door.

 

Two males burst through the door, both older looking men. One of them had dark brown hair and broken glasses, sporting a blood stained blue shirt, jeans, and tattered black sneakers. He was holding a single pistol, but it didn’t minimize how much of a threat he was. The other one looked older and was wearing another blood stained top, a dark gray sweater, black jeans, and worn leather work boots. The older one was brandishing two pistols. Kara didn’t catch this, immediately pulling out her trusty knife and sprinting towards the older one as soon as they entered the room.

 

“Nuh-unh unh!” The man wielding two guns stopped Kara short with the click of a gun on her forehead. “Would be a shame if that pretty little face of yours got blown off because of my gun, wouldn’t it?” He said with a sing-songy voice, one of his arms lifted to put the gun to Kara’s forehead.

 

Everyone had their weapon drew, but was frozen in place for fear of Kara getting hurt.

 

‘ _He looks fifty, what’s he doing flirting with me?’_ Kara thought to herself, scowling at the intruder with her meanest face.

 

“Dude, you’re basically an old man, what the hell are you doing saying that disgusting shit to someone like her? She’s half your age!” Phoebe called out, disgusted. Avery hit her in the arm, whispering to her sister.

 

_“Hold the snarky comments off! Are you trying to get her killed?!”_

 

“What’s that short stuff?” The man holding two guns asked rhetorically, pointing his other gun at Phoebe.

 

Phoebe steamed with rage, straightening herself up trying to look taller than she was, but she chose to stay silent, following her sister’s advice. She took several deep breaths, which barely made a dent to her anger.

 

“ _Tch, nothing._ ” Phoebe mumbled, brows furrowed.

 

“That’s what I thought.” The guy holding to guns commanded, creepy tone interlaced in the words. “Everyone drop their weapons, and go to the back of the room.”

 

Kara backed up, grateful for the chance to step back from the gun, though she was disappointed that she didn’t manage to do anything to the man that just pressed a gun to her forehead. Everyone did as they were told, dropping their weapons and slowly backing up to the back of the room. After a while everyone was against the back wall of the room, Kara remained standing straight, still holding her knife.

 

**_Bang!_ **

 

“I said drop the knife, bitch!” The man holding two guns yelled impatiently.

 

Everyone had ducked for fear of getting hit by the bullet, multiple girls whimpering in fear. Kara took this chance to finally drop her knife, reluctantly following the intruder’s orders.

 

“I dropped the knife. Now what are you doing here?” Kara slowly stood up, uttering her question more like a statement.

 

“We’re here for resources, are you stupid or something?” The other man said, waving his single gun around like it was nothing.

 

“Well if you want resources-“ Kara began, but was interrupted by the trespasser.

 

“Shut up, shut the fuck up!” The man holding two guns snapped. “Johnson, get those two.” He pointed to Mielle and Lex, which both froze in fear.

 

The man holding one gun, who’s name was apparently Johnson, was tossed one of the guns the other trespasser was formerly holding. He walked towards the two chosen girls, pushing them near one of the corners of the table in the middle of the room, pointing each of the guns at each of the girls’ heads. Mielle squeezed her eyes shut as Lex held her breath.

 

“There’re our bargaining chips.” The man drooled, examining the two hostages from head to toe. Kara growled as Phoebe choked. Avery gripped her sister’s wrist. “Now I’m going to take _all_ your supplies, one by fucking one. If anyone moves, your friends go bye-bye!” The man cackled slowly and disturbingly, wicked smirk on his face.

 

The intruder started to walk around slowly, scoping the room for where the food was placed. Everyone followed the man’s eyes slowly and nervously, no one daring to move after what he said. Phoebe couldn’t take what was happening, and soon had to say something.

 

“Look, why don’t we offer a trade?” She suggested.

 

“A trade of what? We’re already getting your resources. It doesn’t matter now.” The man dismissed Phoebe without a thought.

 

“What if I came with you instead?”

 

“Phoebe, _no!_ ” Avery cried out, gripping her sister’s wrist even harder.

 

“And have you complain the entire time? You’d be more useful to me dead, short stuff.” That statement angered Phoebe once again, taking more deep breaths to calm herself down.

 

 _‘Just continue on as normal, just continue on as normal.’_ She thought to herself.

 

“I won’t complain, I won’t resist. I’ll be like some fucking doll for you.” Said Phoebe, almost vomiting in her own mouth.

 

“No no no nonono- You’re not doing this, Phoebe, you are not giving yourself to a bunch of-!”

 

**_Bang!_ **

 

Avery sputtered and panicked, immediately screaming and freezing up as soon as she heard the sound of the gun, shutting her eyes close. Kara and Phoebe both ducked, both standing up again slowly. Avery opened her eyes slowly, like she couldn’t believe she was alive.

 

“Shut up, you fucking loudmouth whore! You’re fucking lucky I missed!” The man screamed for the nth time, this time taking a few breaths of his own to calm down. “Now let’s see if short stuff can chew what she bit off. C’mere.” The man gestured to himself.

 

Phoebe followed, head bowed and brows furrowed, but no complaint was uttered from her mouth, just as she said. Avery whimpered as Phoebe shook off her own sister’s hand. She reached the front of the invader, head still bowed.

 

“On your knees.”

 

 _‘Is he fucking making me do what I think he’s going to make me do?!’_ Phoebe thought to herself, bile rising up in her throat once again.

 

“Now clean my boots.”

 

_‘...At the very least it wasn’t what I thought it was.’_

 

Phoebe grabbed a part of her top and started to wipe the boots, until the the man stomped on Phoebe’s head, hitting it against the floor with a _‘thump!’_. Phoebe barely even made a sound, honoring the terms of the deal she said.

 

“With your tongue.”

 

_‘I CAN’T THAT’S FUCKING DISGUSTING!’_

Phoebe thought once again, taking deep breaths.

Her head lowered at a snail’s pace, using each second to formulate a plan.

 

_‘I “clean” this fucking guy’s shoe, and if I flatter him enough he’ll take me with him along with his stupid companion, and he lowers his guard. A small distance off the school I kill them both and make my way back. This is how this is going to work.’_

 

Phoebe’s nose was a millimeter above the boot, tongue extended out and about to touch the worn, dirty boot. She paused, praying.

 

‘ _Lord Jesus Christ in heaven please let someone save me from this… I really don’t wanna do this…’_

 

Nothing happened, and her tongue made contact with the boot. The boot tasted sour and smelled disgusting, making Phoebe gag when Kara suddenly started.

 

“Wait.”

 

Phoebe stopped.

 

“Ugh, what the fuck do you want, bitch?”

 

_‘A little late, Lord…’_

 

“Just go back to the original deal, and we’ll sweeten the pot by doing supply runs for you.”

 

“Not as good as having my own personal _slave_.” The man said, drooling and smirking again. Kara has to resist punching him in the face.

 

“Think about it George, we’ll live like kings if we accept this!” The man named Johnson said, still holding the guns to Mielle and Lex’s heads.

 

“...Fucking fine. Now find us all your supplies.”

 

Phoebe lifted her head up and looked at the situation around her, seeing Johnson stationed just where the overhead cabinets were placed, still holding Mielle and Lex as hostages. Mielle’s eyes were watery, more so than Lex, who’s eyes were covered in a thin layer of tears. Kara slowly walked towards the cabinets, where most of their food was stored. She passed by Johnson, walking behind him and suddenly whipping her knife out and sinking her knife in the back of his head. His whole body went limp, dropping both guns as he dropped to the floor. The two former hostages raced to pick up the guns as George started shooting wildy in Kara’s general direction. She picked up Johnson’s dead body and used it as a human shield, Mielle and Lex running out of the way and flipping one of the tables at the far end of the room for cover, Avery reached the table at the same time as Kara, Kara dropping the dead body as soon as she reached cover.

 

“Give me the gun Mielle!” Kara demanded, and Mielle followed, but not swiftly enough.

 

Phoebe was surprisingly unnoticed in the fight, jumping up swiftly and suddenly grabbing the lone intruder by the arm, aiming Iand twisting the gun off of his hand, breaking his finger in the process.

 

“ _Argh!_ You handsy little **whore!** ” George yelled, throwing a punch at Phoebe. She dodged quickly and shot his hand out of spite. The injured man screamed in pain.

 

Everyone went silent, peeking over the flipped table now had bullet holes in the wood, intrigued by what was happening.

 

“Oh you’ll be _fiiiine_ , it’s not like you would’ve been able to use your hand anyway with your fucked up finger!” Phoebe said without mercy or remorse.

 

“Wh… What the fuck is wrong with you?!” The man yelled once again, charging towards Phoebe like a bull.

 

“Nuh-unh uhn!~” Phoebe sang, mocking the intruder’s earlier use of the phrase, pointing the gun straight to his forehead, similar to the way he did to Kara. “You don’t want to lose _this_ body part, do you?” She said, smile as wide as a clown’s.

 

“N… N-no I… I-I don’t…” George stuttered. Phoebe laughed openly, eyes crinkling in twisted joy.

 

“Good. Why don’t we take this little date outside, huh?”

  


CHAPTER END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, it’s just crazy shit after crazy shit in this one. Welp, hoped you liked this chapter, and I’ll see you in the next one! Bye!~ (Oh yeah, I can’t believe I’m halfway through Chap 10, I’m dead)


	6. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Literally the aftermath. Like, it literally takes place right after that whole hostage situation. Did you even read the title?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOT DAMN IT'S BEEN A LONG GODDAMN TIME! Hi, hello, sorry it's been so long, I just got super goddamn busy with life and whatever obstacles Jesus threw at me. Well, I mean at least I didn't stop this story, (Though I'm not sure how glad all of you are that this is still happening) and it's summer for me now, so WOOOOH LET'S GO MORE CHAPTERS!
> 
> (Also for the people that read this the second this came out i.e. my friends WOOH SUPPORTIVENESS I fucked up saving all my edits and had to do them again so here you go now you have to read my shit a second time)

“Why don’t we take this little date outside, huh?”

 

Phoebe dragged the injured man out the invaded dining room with a grunt and slammed the door behind her. Who she learned was “George” made an immediate move for a wall away from the person that shot him, choosing to rest on one of the bright yellow walls.

 

The shaken girl didn’t mind, resting her back on the wooden door and taking a moment to breath. She gripped her new gun tightly, as if she was scared that if might slip from her hands. Phoebe looked around the room.

 

The pitiful sight before her had Phoebe snap out of whatever trance she was in, sending the first pang of guilt straight to her heart.

 

She saw George leaning on the wall, hunched over and blood dripping on the floor from his injured hand. She heard his pained grunts and exhausted pants. At that moment all she saw was a human being she had shot in spur of the moment anger, a human being she had willingly injured with a smile on her face. She didn’t see the ugliness of the man, but only saw the fact that she had wounded him.

 

“So are you going to fucking kill me o-”

 

“Get the fuck out of here.” The girl said, completely ignoring her moral compass trying to tell her what to do in favor of keeping up a tough act.

 

George grunted, questioning what Phoebe just said. His head turned from its earlier position of facing the side of the wall.

 

“I shot your hand, not your ear. I said get the fuck out of here and never come back.”

 

“So you kill my friend and kick me out? Is that how your little girl group works?”

 

And there it was. Another pang of guilt that stabbed right through Phoebe’s heart. Her eyes couldn’t meet George’s, but she kept a fierce face on so the man wouldn’t catch on to her current moral dilemma. She decided to keep up the act that she wasn’t affected by what she had done to the man.

 

“And you hold a couple of barely legal people hostage, try to steal all their shit, and keep one of them as some fucking slave for all your creepy fantasies? Is that how your pervert squad works?”

 

There was silence from the both of them, neither knowing what to respond to the other’s statements.

 

“I don’t even have a weapon to defend myself in the fucking _pitch **black** _ out there.” The man complained.

 

“Then force some other random girl to lick your fucking boots and use that as a weapon.” Phoebe responded "uncaringly."

 

She knew what the man was doing. He was buying time. Buying time so he wouldn’t have to face whatever horrors lied outside the protected building. There she felt the third pang of guilt, but she forced her way through it and blocked it out of her mind, though she knew that she would regret it immensely later.

 

George had nothing to say, and started shuffling towards the door he had previously broken into. His supplies were set aside right beside the supplies Avery gathered to the left of the door, and he eyed them on the way out. The hand that wasn’t injured reached out as a last-ditch effort for the supplies, until he felt a gun click behind his head.

 

The man slowly raised his hands, hissing as the muscles on his injured hand tightened, more blood oozing out of the gunshot. Phoebe swore she could’ve seen the glint of the metal she put in him.

 

“Walk.” Phoebe demanded, George followed, taking small steps toward the door.

 

All Phoebe heard was a small click from the large oak door as George turned the knob as slowly as he could, still buying time. Phoebe did nothing, and that caused the third pang of guilt.

 

The door opened and light poured out of the building as she shoved the man outside. She swore she saw a few shadows moving, but chose to ignore everything and focus on getting him out of the building. George moved slowly, seemingly aware of the zombies shambling outside.

 

“They must’ve been attracted to the racket me and Johnson caused, huh.” George said.

 

Phoebe said nothing.

 

“Aww c’mon, I’m going to die out there! The least you can grant me is a response, short stack.” The intruder managed to chuckle despite his dire situation.

 

Phoebe shoved George out the door.

 

_“I hope you’re proud of yourself, you sick fuck.”_

 

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

 

The four girls were slumped against the upturned table, panting and coughing from the intense situation they were just put through. Everyone took a moment to catch their breath, trying to process what had just happened to them.

 

Mielle and Lex wrapped Kara in a hug, Mielle placing her arms around the knife wielding girl’s torso from behind, and Lex speeding to her best friend to tackle her with a hug from the front. Kara froze up because of the initial contact, but immediately melted into the hug as soon as she knew what was happening. Avery was separated from the others, still going over what happened in her head.

 

 _“I thought he was going to fucking kill you both.”_ Kara shuddered, melting even more so into the group hug.

 

 _“I’m pretty sure we all thought that at some point…”_ Mielle responded, sighing.

 

 _“I’m just glad we’re all in one piece.”_ Lex whispered.

 

Kara stood up while the other girls followed suit, not really knowing what to do. Their dining room was now a mess, the clam chowder on the floor with the added ingredient of dirt and bacteria, the soup pot on it’s side with multiple bowls shattered around it, spoons scattered around the floor and the table on its side with the added decoration of bullet holes.

 

“Let’s clean this up and get the body out of here. Someone make sure that the intruder’s dead.” Said Kara as she moved to the counter and gathered all the rags she could see.

 

Everyone followed Kara’s lead in complete silence, wanting to get rid of all the signs that the intrusion happened. Kara and Lex focused on fixing the table that now had multiple bullet holes embedded in it, while Mielle and Avery both got on the ground to clean up the ruined soup.

 

No one wanted to make sure the former intruder was dead, so the body was left near the side of the room. Kara and Lex were working on flipping the table back to its right orientation, Kara’s facial expression showed no signs of being affected, yet her hands fumbled with getting a grip on the damaged table. Meanwhile, Lex was brash with her actions, almost slamming the table back in its place.

 

“Are you trying to break the table? Any more and a leg will snap off.” Kara commented. Lex didn’t respond.

 

Mielle was cleaning the counters, pointedly avoiding the body on the floor. Avery was stationed on the floor, picking up the stray pieces of porcelain and placing them in the soup pot. Everyone continued their tasks until Lex spoke up.

 

“Oh look, she’s back to her old self.”

 

_‘I’ve heard better side comments from a schizophrenic with Tourette’s.’_

 

Avery chose not to say what was on her mind, for fear of being kicked out and instead focused on wiping up the mess on the ground.

 

“What? Did you choose to back out of a response too?”

 

 _‘Deep breaths… Focus on_ _not_ _getting up and walking away from everything. You and Phoebe need this base.’_

 

“I… Uh… No… I just didn’t want to start anything…” Avery said, head down as Kara and Lex collectively scoffed at the display.

 

Avery noticed this, and stood up suddenly. She set the rag down hurriedly and rushed out the door with a quick and solemn sounding “I’m sorry.”

 

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

 

Phoebe rested against the couch as she mulled over what she just did. She felt disgusting. All that time being exposed to the outside elements, the zombies, and crazy people didn’t make murder any easier, even if she was murdering a pervert.

 

She stared at the gun she was fiddling with. It was a black pistol, and it seemed like it was just cleaned. The fact that a human life that she most likely just ended used to hold that gun made her grimace and feel more guilty than she already was, so she threw the gun away from her, groaning.

 

“Don’t break it, we still need it.” Avery said, emerging from the hallway near the dining room.

 

“I’ll get it later.”

 

“That means I’ll have to get it for you later, since you’ll probably forget.” Avery sat on the floor beside the older sister. Phoebe chuckled weakly.

 

“Guess what?” Avery asked, smiling proudly.

 

“What?”

 

“Turns out my acting skills prove useful in the apocalypse. The cowardly role will get them to see me as less of a threat.” The younger sister’s smile turned into a smirk.

 

…

 

A pause of silence.

 

“Uh… Look, in all seriousness, you gotta stop doing that.”

 

“Doing what? Being great at acting?”

 

“No, Ave. I’m talking about your reflex where if you don’t know if you’ll win, or if you don’t feel like the person with the upper hand, you give up.” Said Phoebe. Avery remained silent.

 

“I know you hate to lose, but you always do this. Right now we’re not the people with the upper hand, we’re the beggars, but you decided to overplay the ‘I’m a coward!’ act just so you didn’t have to face the fact that you were really scared of the situation.” Phoebe continued.

 

The atmosphere was awkward, Phoebe having called out her sister for something she had been doing for as long as she could remember, yet somehow having to talk about her actions made her as guilty as a child hiding sweets from their mother.

 

“I… I guess I do do that, don’t I…” Said Avery bashfully, not knowing what to respond. Phoebe grunted in affirmation.

 

“Are you mad at me?”

 

“Nope.”

 

The girls sat in silence. The older sister wrapped her arm around the shoulder of the younger, pulling her close.

 

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

 

“Lex, she was already shaken up by the situation, just as we all are. Why did you have to do that?” Questioned Mielle, though she received no response from the girl she was questioning.

 

Kara stopped what she was doing in favor of spectating what was happening. Lex had stopped what she was doing completely. The room was filled with silence for a few seconds, until Lex angrily pushed the table away, surprising Mielle and Kara.

 

“What kind of person just watches while a fellow human being is taken hostage?!” Lex exclaimed.

 

“Well, she was scared, of course-“

 

“No, Kara! Scared was Phoebe when she didn’t know WHAT THE HELL would happen to her when she offered herself up to those perverts! Scared was you when you killed the guy holding Mielle and I and didn’t know what would happen next!”

 

“Lex, please…” Mielle attempted to calm her friend down to no avail.

 

“Well, guess what? Scared was also Avery, afraid that she would _die_ if she offered up her life to a bunch of strangers, just to protect a few people she met an hour ago!” Kara countered.

 

“Why are you **_defending_ ** her so much?! Do you just value your stupid dream about a fantasy safe haven over people you’ve lived with for _months_?! Is that it?!” Lex practically screamed.

 

“Guys, stop!” Mielle exclaimed. Kara and Lex both snapped their heads at the interfering girl.

 

The whole room was tense, air thick with the anger of both girls. Kara and Lex were quite literally at opposite sides, the table separating both of them. Mielle was deeply troubled. She was positioned between her two best friends doing one thing she hated most. Fighting.

 

 _“I don’t understand why you’re so eager to keep them when you were the one who never wanted them in the first place.”_ Mumbled Lex after a period of silence.

 

“And I don’t understand why you’re so eager to kick them out when you were the one that brought them in!”

 

“I already said stop!” Mielle exclaimed for a second time when she heard first sign that an argument was going to start once again.

 

“There’s no use arguing over who stays and who goes because _we already made a decision_ _!_ They’re staying here for a week and we decided on that as a group. It’s final.” She continued. There was no response.

 

“Lex, I know you’re angry about how Avery could have cost us our lives, but everything is over now. Don’t stoop to her level by sending her off to die. Kara, I know you're the youngest but you're really intelligent so I’m sure you can understand where Lex was coming from. She just doesn’t want to leave you alone in _this_ world. We’ve been together for how long? We don’t need something like this to tear us apart, especially when none of us got hurt.” Said Mielle, trying to resolve the conflict as quick as she could.

 

Neither Kara nor Lex stopped to look at Mielle. They were just staring at each other. Kara had her eyebrows narrowed and her fists balled up. Looking closer, Mielle saw the formation of tears in her eyes, until suddenly they started spilling over. Kara ran towards the exit of the door.

 

Mielle tried to stop her, but was roughly pushed aside. The offended girl ran out with a slam of the door. Meanwhile, Lex watched the event before her with a blooming anger. She stormed off, pushing the table and stomping over the broken shards of porcelain. There was a slam of the door. As Kara and Lex went off into their rooms, two more bangs were heard and Mielle was left alone.

 

She sighed to herself in frustration, rubbing her temples. Mielle exited the dining room door, not wanting to clean up in the very room where her best friends just fought in. She made no move to talk to them either, deciding to move straight into the dining room, where she saw Phoebe and Avery in a comfortable side hug.

 

 _‘If only Kara and Lex would get along as well as they would…’_ Mielle sighed once again, walking towards the messy pile of supplies on the floor. 

 

“I heard that whole fight. Can’t say I found their whole argument very logical, but I did agree with your whole speech.” Said Phoebe, getting up from her sitting down position to help the conflicted girl with the unorganized supplies.

 

“And who are you to judge what we were saying?” Mielle responded with snark.

 

“She doesn’t mean any harm. She was simply trying to make the situation lighter.” Avery stepped in, helping Mielle and her sister organize the supplies.

 

“Yeah, I get that. Sorry for lashing out, it’s just… I don’t understand why they are making such a big deal out of this when everything has already been decided! Why do _I_ have to be the one that has to fix _everything_  and take care of _everyone_ when _I'm_ one of the people who almost died?! Why can’t _I_   be the one being taken care of for once?!-” Mielle ranted, almost screaming. She stopped herself before she could go any further, snapping her mouth shut as a deep, red blush spread across her face. There was a quiet "Excuse me..." as Mielle turned around and briskly walked back to the dining room to avoid any other outburst in pure embarrassment.

 

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

 

Phoebe and Avery both stared at the empty space Mielle used to stand in in silence, then stared at each other. Avery stared back at her older sister and nodded towards the supplies. Phoebe instantly continued to put order in the pile as Avery stood up. The older girl once again stopped, and the younger just nodded towards the dining room Mielle entered. Both girls understood each other completely.

 

Avery walked over to the dining room, stopping right in front of the door. She put her ear next to the wood, to which she heard the sounds of incessant cleaning. Then she opened the door, making little to no sound. She saw Mielle doing what the sounds that she heard earlier indicated. She was cleaning. There was a crease to Mielle’s eyebrows as she swiftly cleaned one mess after another, hands working fast yet leaving nothing behind.

 

“...Working hard or hardly working…?” Avery tried, miserably failing at her joke. Mielle stopped to look at the girl incredulously.

 

“I’m sorry. I guess it doesn’t work out when I try to act like my sister.”

 

“What do you want?” Said Mielle, not stopping from her current task.

 

“Right, I should get to the point.” Avery replied, shutting the door gently. She walked towards Mielle, working right beside her.

 

“From what I heard in your earlier speech, you don’t want to clean up the mess that you’re currently trying to fix right now, whether it’s the mess in this dining room or the mess between Kara and Lex.”

 

“...Yes. That… That was what I said in my ‘speech’.” Mielle said bashfully, looking away to hide her expression.

 

“Mhmm," Avery acknowledged.

 

"And what if I told you that I could take over for you? You could _relax_ while my sister and I fix the messes you're dealing with right now. You could even make a new one and we’d still clean it up for you.” Said Avery.

 

Mielle stopped. She turned to look at the girl beside her in barely concealed disbelief. Avery turned as well, straightening herself up to her full height, which was just a bit shorter than Mielle. Even then her confidence made her seem bigger than the girl in disbelief.

 

“Are you sure about this?”

 

“I wouldn't be talking to you if I wasn't sure about this, Mielle.” Avery said, moving her face closer to Mielle’s.

 

“Even then... I can't just let you do everything. Since I'm the eldest, they're my responsibility. They rely on me and I can't just leave them like this.”

 

“You aren’t _giving up_ on them. You’re just letting me help you. _Besides_ , do you think they would think like this if you were the one that started the fight?”

 

Avery maintained eye contact through the whole exchange. Her voice remained gentle yet no part of her resolve was wavering one bit. Mielle was quite the opposite, already weighing the pros and cons in silence.

 

 _'I'm not quite sure if they would worry the same way as I do... I've never been the one to start fights in the group...'_   She thought to herself.

 

“Okay. I’ll let you do what you need to.” Said Mielle.

 

“See? It wasn’t too hard, was it?~” Avery said, sounding just like a temptress. There was yet another silence until Mielle started giggling softly.

 

The tension was completely broken, Mielle’s eyes crinkling in happiness as she covered her smile with her hand. Avery stepped down and backed up, wondering why she was laughing.

 

“You sound like you’re trying to seduce me!” Mielle continued laughing. Avery was a little bothered, yet she paid no mind to that part of her.

 

“And what if I am?~ What would you think?~” Asked Avery, quickly silencing the formerly laughing girl. Just as quick as it disappeared, the tension was back again.

 

“...Uh- Well- I-I mean…” Mielle stammered, looking around frantically.

 

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Said Avery, who was now the girl that was laughing. Mielle continued stammering.

 

“Now go, make a mess if you want to. Phoebe and I will be cleaning it up anyway.”

 

CHAPTER END

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys better not judge me just because I put the tiniest bit of gay shit there. ANYWAYS, sorry it was conversation heavy, I didn't really know what else to add... I mean like if I added another action scene it would've been too much, so I guess this still fits. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in chapter 7! I promise I'll upload earlier! <3
> 
> P.S. Making edits to all previous chapters. Reading through them again, I kept noticing all the tiny mistakes and it's driving me crazy. Also my ~AWESOME~ editor will be making changes too, so yeah. Credits to her for making sure the grammar in this chapter wasn't shitty!

**Author's Note:**

> So... What did you guys think? I don't know if it's good or not but I do have at least a little faith in the fact that my shit is good so like yeah. Anyways, see you guys in chap 3!


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